The present application relates generally to an optical imaging system. More particularly, the invention provides a presentation imaging system for imaging and processing machine readable information on an object which is carried thereunder and which provides a visual indicator to an operator as to the imaging area and provides feedback to the operator when the machine readable information has been imaged and successfully processed.
Package monitoring capability is a vital task of modern inventory control. In many warehousing and trunk loading facilities, packages are scanned as they are loaded onto or received from trucks or other shipping means. To aid in this task, scanners have been developed. Typically, two types of scanners are used, hand-held mobile scanners and non-mobile linear scanners. Often, however, these two types of scanners have inherent limitations which affect their overall efficiency and usefulness.
Hand-held mobile scanners are used by operators to record information contained on bar code labels. These scanners come in various forms including wand, CCD, CMOS and portable laser scanners. The sensitivity of these scanners requires them to be in close proximity to the bar code to successfully read it. This direct contact/close proximity reading requires slow package movement along the material transit path to allow handlers to scan the package without errors, ultimately increasing package handling costs. An additional problem with these scanners is that they are limited in their usefulness. These scanners can only read bar code information and will not image an object based upon other characteristics.
Non-mobile linear scanning systems require precise alignment between a bar code and the scanning system. In these systems, an operator must locate a bar code on a package and then manipulate the package so that the bar code is in one of the required alignments for reading. These scanners have a greater scanning depth capability relative to hand-held scanners. However, these scanners do not allow imaging of whole surfaces of packages at one time, rather they scan one or more discrete lines while the package moves through a scanning area.
There is a need to provide an imaging system which will image objects from a remote point over a wide optical field or area while allowing accurate reading of bar codes or other machine readable information located on a surface of the object. There is a further need to provide a system which will require minimal package manipulation in order to accurately image an object and process the machine readable information, such that a user carrying an object can easily pass it through a defined imaging field as he loads or unloads the object. There is a still further need to provide a system for reading and processing machine readable information on an object that is safe and provides confirmation that successful processing of the information has occurred.
The current invention provides a presentation imaging system used for reading and processing machine readable information on an object. The presentation imaging system comprises an imaging device coupled to a processor for imaging a surface of an object. The imaging device detects the presence of the object within a field of view. A light source projects a structured beam at a first intensity to define an imaging area generally co-extensive with the field of view. Upon detection of the object, the processor signals the light source to project the beam at a second, higher intensity for imaging.